Neighborhood and Community Improvement Program Committee Meeting

MINUTES NEIGHBORHOOD IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM COMMITTEE Special Meeting Thursday, July 31, 2014 7:00 PM COUNCIL CHAMBER, FEW MEMORIAL HALL 580 PACIFIC STREET MONTEREY, CALIFORNIA NIP Representatives & Aguajito Oaks NIP Rep Morgan Alternates Present: Casanova-Oak Knoll NIP Rep Ruccello Del Monte Beach NIP Rep Fields Del Monte Grove-Laguna Grande NIP Rep Alley Fisherman Flats NIP Alt Rowley Monterey Vista NIP Alt Venza New Monterey NIP Rep Dwight Oak Grove NIP Alt Green Old Town NIP Rep Harrison Skyline Forest NIP Rep Duke Skyline Ridge NIP Rep Conway Villa Del Monte NIP Alt Hintze Staff Members Present: Interim NIP Staff Coordinator Francis, Deputy City Manager, Plans & Public Works Pick, Chief of Planning, Engineering, and Environmental Compliance Rerig, Principal Engineer Harary, Senior Engineer Williamson, Park Operations Manager Marcuzzo, Recording Secretary Allen CALL TO ORDER Interim NIP Staff Coordinator Francis called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. ROLL CALL Twelve neighborhoods were represented, with Alta Mesa and Deer Flats unrepresented. APPROVAL OF MINUTES 1. April 3, 2014 Sharon Dwight made a motion to approve the April 3, 2014 minutes as submitted. Merrily Alley seconded the motion. The motion was approved by twelve Representatives, with Alta Mesa and Deer Flats absent. 2. April 10, 2014 3. April 17, 2014 4. April 24, 2014 Sharon Dwight made a motion to approve the April 10, April 17, and April 24, 2014 minutes as amended. Maxwell Green seconded the motion. The motion was approved by twelve Representatives, with Alta Mesa and Deer Flats absent.  Neighborhood Improvement Program Committee Minutes Thursday, July 31, 2014 PUBLIC COMMENTS Ms. Francis opened Public Comments for items not on the agenda. Having no requests to speak, Ms. Francis closed Public Comments. INFORMATIONAL REPORTS & STAFF COMMENTS 5. Introduce Deputy City Manager of Plans and Public Works; Update on NIP Coordinator and NIP Administrative Assistant II Positions Ms. Francis introduced Dino Pick, Deputy City Manager, Plans and Public Works who said he was looking forward to overseeing this unique program. He said while working on hiring replacements for the NIP Coordinator and NIP Administrative Assistant positions, he would take the next six months to assess the Plans and Public Works Department needs and direct a reorganization. He said his initial thought is to consolidate and unify engineering resources by combining NIP, CIP, PMSA (Presidio Municipal Services Agency), and Future Planning engineers under the supervision of a City Engineer who would report directly to the Deputy City Manager, Plans and Public Works. He verified that interviews for the NIP Coordinator/Principal Engineer position were scheduled for August 7th, and NIP Representatives Duke and Ruccello would be participating on the interview panel. He said he is looking forward to working collaboratively with the NIP Committee and staff to tighten up procedures and make progress as quickly as possible towards accomplishing the Committee’s goals for their individual neighborhoods, making the City stronger overall. He asked each of the members to extend an invitation to him to attend their next neighborhood association meetings to give him the opportunity to meet the residents, to understand the context of the individual neighborhoods, and to discuss specific projects. He said he would also be assessing and reorganizing the administrative support to the NIP and that Interim NIP Coordinator Francis would continue to assist the new NIP Coordinator. Ms. Dwight said it was imperative to hire an NIP Administrative Assistant as soon as possible to allow Administrative Assistant Allen time before she retires to provide training on all the tasks and software used to establish the NIP Committee each year, and prepare for and conduct the NIP meetings and annual project review process. 6. Reminder that Nominations for NIP Committee Representatives and Alternates are Due by September 19, 2014 Ms. Francis asked the Committee to work with their neighborhoods to submit the nominations for the 2015 NIP Committee Representatives and Alternates by September 19. 7. Update on NIP Policies and Procedures Manual Review Ms. Francis advised that further review of the NIP Policies and Procedures Manual would be postponed until summer of 2015 to give the new NIP Coordinator/Principal Engineer time to work through a project review cycle and learn about the program. Neighborhood Improvement Program Committee Meeting Minutes Thursday, July 31, 2014 2  Neighborhood Improvement Program Committee Minutes Thursday, July 31, 2014 8. Update on Key NIP Projects Ms. Francis reported on the status of many NIP projects, advising those that were in design, construction, with some close to completion. Principal Engineer Harary and Senior Engineer Williamson answered the Committee’s questions regarding various projects and discussed priorities. Ms. Dwight said that NIP funds should be used to give jobs to small local businesses whenever possible. Ms. Fields reinforced that the Committee had asked for an interactive solution for the train at Dennis the Menace Park rather than a passive one. On question from Ms. Hintze, Mr. Harary confirmed that RM Design Group from San Luis Obispo was awarded the contract for the Villa Del Monte Revitalization Study and would tour the neighborhood to collect information, hold a series of neighborhood meetings, narrow down the recommendations to what is reasonable, then make a recommendation, and present to Council for approval. Ms. Fields stressed that the City missed the very small window of opportunity to work on the Del Monte Beach sand mitigation project last year and Park Operations Manager Marcuzzo confirmed planting would be done this November. Ms. Hintze asked that the age of each project be included in future presentations. Ms. Dwight said that each phase for a project needs to be called out separately on the master project list so that the Committee can be aware if a specific phase needs additional funding. She also pointed out that staff was estimating completion of 40-50 projects in this calendar year, which meets past accomplishments and is a positive improvement. Mr. Ruccello pointed out that the completion time on projects shown on the master project list quarterly updates keeps creeping out to later dates, and that it is discouraging to have to tell the neighborhood residents that the project completion date continues to be extended. Ms. Francis reminded the Committee that the scheduling still was a work in progress. NIP INFORMATIONAL REPORTS 9. NIP Spokesperson Reports Alternate Spokesperson Ruccello reported that the three spokespersons had multiple meetings with the City Manager and Assistant City Manager regarding the agreement to hire an NIP Principal Engineer, and that he and Mr. Duke would be on the panel for interviewing the NIP Principal Engineer. He said the spokespersons also met with Mr. Pick and Chief of Planning, Engineering, and Environmental Compliance Rerig to discuss the NIP process. Alternate Spokesperson Dwight said they also discussed the City policy issues that are making it difficult for staff to progress on projects. Both Mr. Ruccello and Ms. Dwight expressed that the meetings were collaborative, highly satisfactory, and that things were moving forward with the change in leadership. Alternate Spokesperson Dwight advised that the three spokespersons had also met with Interim NIP Coordinator Francis to discuss NIP projects, addressing some of the concerns NIP Committee members had, and her role during transition. In addition, she advised that she attended the Parks and Recreation Commission meeting and van tour in June. She said the van tour was very informative, that anyone could attend, and encouraged NIP members to attend next year. Neighborhood Improvement Program Committee Meeting Minutes Thursday, July 31, 2014 3  Neighborhood Improvement Program Committee Minutes Thursday, July 31, 2014 PUBLIC APPEARANCE 10. Project Solicitation for FY 2015/16 NIP Ms. Francis reviewed options for soliciting projects. After discussion, the Committee concurred to follow the same process as last year and not spend funds on a mailer to every household in Monterey. Mr. Ruccello asked that staff submit small reasonable City projects, not projects in the $400,000 to $500,000 range. Sharon Dwight made a motion to provide outreach to the community for NIP project nominations utilizing no cost options. Dennis Duke seconded the motion. The motion was approved by twelve Representatives, with Alta Mesa and Deer Flats absent. 11. Report on NIP Administration Overhead for FY 2012/13 Ms. Francis advised that Finance determined that the final true-up amount for FY 2012/13 was $1,517 and that Finance suggested that this amount be deducted from the Ending Balance fund reducing the balance of $26,163 to $24,646. Ms. Dwight said that the budget was already approved by Council and could not be amended without Council action. Mr. Duke made a motion to table the item until after the NIP Project Cost Subcommittee met with Finance. Dennis Duke made a motion to table the FY 2012/13 NIP Budget true up until the NIP Project Cost Subcommittee met with Finance and reported back to the NIP Committee. Maxwell Green seconded the motion. The motion was approved by all twelve Representatives, with Alta Mesa and Deer Flats absent. 12. Status of Tree Planting Projects: Old Town Tree Planting Phase 3 (32n0809), Old Town Tree Planting Phase 4 (32n0906), and Pearl Street Tree Planting Phase 2 (32n0913) Ms. Harrison advised that she had spoken to the project applicant who agreed to deappropriate the Old Town tree planting projects if necessary. She said trees are dying in Old Town and need to be replaced, and questioned how to support Monterey’s designation as a Tree City, USA. Park Operations Manager Marcuzzo advised that due to the ongoing drought, the City stopped planting trees in locations where there is no irrigation in place. Several members spoke in support of retaining the tree planting projects with the suggestion that some property owners would be willing to take on the responsibility of watering the trees. Mr. Ruccello suggested exploring creative ways to irrigate the street trees from property owner water sources. Ms. Dwight reminded the Committee that City Forester Reid had prepared a Master Tree Plan that specified the types of trees to be planted block by block for the microclimates around the city. The Committee concurred to hold off on deappropriating the tree planting projects and to explore creative solutions for irrigating replacement trees. COMMITTEE MEMBER COMMENTS April Harrison (Old Town) had no comment. Mary Conway (Skyline Ridge) had no comment. Neighborhood Improvement Program Committee Meeting Minutes Thursday, July 31, 2014 4 Neighborhood Improvement Program Committee Minutes Thursday, July 31, 2014 Merrily Alley (Del Monte Grove-Laguna Grande) had no comment. Olivia Morgan (Aguajito Oaks) had no comment. Sharon Dwight (New Monterey) thanked Recording Secretary Allen for her years of service to the Committee, for always paying attention to what the Committee needed and asked for, and then insuring it happened. She said Ms. Allen provided minutes that accurately captured the decisions and compromises of the Committee that are so important for reference in the future. She stressed how important it was for a replacement to be hired in time for Ms. Allen to provide training before her retirement. She closed by saying Ms. Allen will be missed. Pat Venza (Monterey Vista) said ‘Thanks Kim.’ Dennis Duke (Skyline Forest) said he still hopes Mr. Pick talks Ms. Allen out of retiring, and that he is looking forward to the coming year and all the wonderful work the Committee accomplishes. Richard Ruccello (Casanova Oak Knoll) said that since he and Clyde Roberson talked about the idea of forming the neighborhood program 33 years ago, hundreds of people, including many staff, have worked with the program. He said one of the biggest joys is when someone gets the program and understands it. He said Ms. Allen got it and thanked her. Maxwell Green (Oak Grove) said he could not imagine NIP without Ms. Allen. He advised the Committee that the Veterans Transition Center’s Stand Down was being held at Ft. Ord this weekend. He gave thanks for the Oak Grove neighborhood sign and said it was awesome. Tom Rowley (Fisherman Flats) advised that goats were successfully used for fuel reduction on the Deer Flats private owned greenbelt. He said the only problem encountered was the need for guard dogs to keep the mountain lions from attacking the goats. Jayme Fields (Del Monte Beach) said she had nothing further to add to the previous comments. Katrina Hintze (Villa Del Monte) had no comment. Ms. Allen said that working with the Committee has been the most rewarding six years of her career. She said engaging with the members and assisting them is what has enabled her to keep working the past two years, and that she hopes to continue the friendships that have developed over the years. She thanked the Committee and said it has been a privilege and honor to work with all of them. NEXT MEETING Ms. Francis advised that a special meeting would be scheduled as needed. Neighborhood Improvement Program Committee Meeting Minutes Thursday, July 31, 2014 5 Neighborhood Improvement Program Committee Minutes Thursday, July 31, 2014 ADJOURNMENT Ms. Francis adjourned the meeting at 8:47 p.m. Respectfully Submitted, Approved, Kim Allen Jocelyn Francis Recording Secretary NIP Staff Coordinator Neighborhood Improvement Program Committee Meeting Minutes Thursday, July 31, 2014 6